Indonesia, Vietnam Hope For Enhanced Trade

Jakarta, Sept 19 (ANTARA) - Trade minister Gita Wirjawan has expressed optimism that trade relations between Indonesia and Vietnam will continue to improve. He made the statement after holding talks with Vietnamese trade minister Vu Huy Hoang at the 6th Indonesia-Vietnam Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (JC-ESTC) meeting here on Tuesday evening. The two ministers discussed, among other things, hurdles to trade flow between the two countries and possible solutions such as anti-dumping measures and other safeguards. They also explored opportunities of cooperation in 13 sectors, including investment, human resources, agriculture, fisheries, transportation, tourism, construction, and energy. They reaffirmed their commitment to encouraging their countries` oil companies - Pertamina and Petrovietnam - to cooperate with Petronas of Malaysia under the Tripartite Agreement on Oil and Gas, which was signed in November 2007 to create an efficient and effective model for the energy sector�s development across the ASEAN region. At the meeting, Hoang asked Indonesia to continue supplying Vietnam with coal in order to meet the energy requirements of its power plants. Meanwhile, Indonesia sought supply of anthracite coal from Vietnam. With regard to tourism, the two ministers agreed to continue developing the sector in the two countries. Hoang expressed hope that Indonesia would provide Vietnam with tourism industry experts. The two trade ministers also discussed ways to step up cooperation efforts in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. The meeting, which started on September 17, was the fifth of its kind � the first being held in Vietnam in April 2009. At the end of the meeting, the two ministers signed an agreement to extend the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rice trade between the two countries. Under the MoU, the Vietnamese government would extend the agreement to supply rice to Indonesia � from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2017. The agreement was signed as a contingency measure, in case Indonesia needed more rice to meet its national demand in the future. "The signing of the MoU is expected to support national food resilience. As everybody knows, we have also signed similar MoUs with several other rice producers in the ASEAN region, such as Cambodia and Thailand, in order to ensure alternative sources of rice if Indonesia needs it," Gita said. He added that the multiple MOUs were signed in an effort to reduce Indonesia�s dependency on a single country. "So, when Indonesia needs to import rice, it could do it from countries that offer cheaper price or better quality," Gita explained. "However, importing rice should be our last option if we want to stabilize the commodity�s domestic price. That is the only way the low-income segment can still buy rice at an affordable price," he pointed out. Total trade between the Indonesia and Vietnam has grown by 18 percent during the 2007-11 period. However, in the past three years, the bilateral trade has risen significantly - from US$2.11 billion in 2009 to US$4.7 billion in 2011.